Did you know Hong Kong moved its whole airport from Kai Tak to Chek Lap Kok overnight in 1998?

Hong Kong International Airport did not open gradually at Chek Lap Kok. According to the Airport Authority Hong Kong's own history, the airport was relocated from Kai Tak overnight: Kai Tak closed on 6 July 1998, and the first commercial flight at the new site landed at 6:27 am.

Kai Tak had begun operating in 1930, and the first commercial flight, by Imperial Airways from Penang, arrived on 24 March 1936. Its 13/31 runway, completed in 1958 and extended to 3,390 metres in 1975, was considered one of the world's most challenging runways at the time. In 1996 Kai Tak was the world's third-busiest passenger airport, handling 29.5 million passengers, and it was operating beyond its design capacity.

The government announced plans for a new airport in 1989, and construction began in 1991 under the Airport Core Programme. The first landing at Chek Lap Kok took place on 20 February 1997, when a Government Flying Service twin-engine aircraft touched down on the South Runway. The airport opened with one runway; a second was added in May 1999. Each is 3,800 metres long and 60 metres wide.

Expansion has continued since. Construction of a three-runway system began on 1 August 2016, after a 2011 public consultation in which 73% of respondents supported it.

Readers interested in the full timeline, from Kai Tak's opening to the three-runway system, can find it on the airport authority's About Us page.